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Ender's Game

Ender's Game 2

by Orson Scott Card
Paperback
Publication Date: 15/07/1994
4/5 Rating 2 Reviews

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Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut--young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

ISBN:
9780812550702
9780812550702
Category:
Science fiction
Format:
Paperback
Publication Date:
15-07-1994
Language:
English
Publisher:
St. Martin's Press
Country of origin:
United States
Pages:
352
Dimensions (mm):
171x108x24mm
Weight:
0.18kg
Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is the author of the novels Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Speaker for the Dead, which are widely read by adults and younger readers, and are increasingly used in schools.

Besides these and other science fiction novels, Card writes contemporary fantasy (Magic Street, Enchantment, Lost Boys), biblical novels (Stone Tables, Rachel and Leah), the American frontier fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker (beginning with Seventh Son), poetry (An Open Book), and many plays and scripts.

Card was born in Washington and grew up in California, Arizona, and Utah. He served a mission for the LDS Church in Brazil in the early 1970s. Besides his writing, he teaches occasional classes and workshops and directs plays. He recently began a longterm position as a professor of writing and literature at Southern Virginia University.

Card currently lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with his wife, Kristine Allen Card, and their youngest child, Zina Margaret.

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Reviews

3.67

Based on 2 reviews

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2 Reviews

After commenting on a Sci-Fi book blog I found that many people had mentioned how great Ender's Game was. I had just completed Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and was feeling very confident in my ability to understand and appreciate a genre that I would usually avoid due to lack of my own imagination. With such positive reviews and news of a movie being released this year, I felt that I was adequately equipped to give the book a try. I finished it within a day.

I find most young adult series' to either provide us with uninspiring language, provide too-simple explanations for plot developments or be completely devoid of a conclusion in an attempt to get the reader to buy the next book. Not so with Ender's Game. Although a different style of book, my excitement in reading the story reminds me of reading Harry Potter. Reading the book in one sitting and then being desperate to get my hands on the next installment. In fact, when I was only halfway through the book I ordered the next three - just so that they would get to me half a day quicker.

There are many elements to this story that I like. The first is the relationships Ender has with his brother and sister. Their presence is felt throughout the story - they don't just help set up Ender as a character and then cease to exist. I also enjoyed the political aspirations of Peter. He had an avenue to demonstrate his brilliance and manipulation without being a direct threat to Ender. Valentine, his sister, I found less convincing. For all her brilliance she was easily influenced by others, right until the end. By telling the siblings' story throughout the book, Card ensures that the events unfolding on earth are still conveyed and have meaning. Otherwise, the story would be set in space and the reasons for this may be forgotten. These themes also help develop the secondary story line that may continue into the next book.

Although the conversations between the adults in the story are brief and concise, they are an interesting way to give the reader more details to back up Ender's suspicions about why each situation/event/change would occur. I enjoyed the way Ender would consider the purpose behind what he was doing and how it was making him a better person. As a teacher, I appreciated that he wanted to know 'why' his experiences were important and what he needed to do next to develop his skills. No wonder he was such a quick learner!

Ender's Game is fast-paced and never dwelt on one particular issue or battle for very long. Despite this, Card was able to give a good sense of each of the important characters (the children) and I actually found that I became quite attached to Bean. Although we most wanted to see Ender succeed in his mission to become Commander and save the world, we more frequently saw him through the eyes of those who disliked him. It was important for him to have peers who highlighted the positives and strengths of this overwhelmingly significant character. I enjoyed the twist towards the end, I was surprised by it but felt very satisfied with the conclusion to this chapter of the story. I like that there were enough threads left hanging to open up a whole new chapter for Ender.

Although Ender begins the story aged 6, I don't believe that this book is suitable for younger readers. There is a small amount of violence and a couple of unpleasant words, not to mention that the vocabulary and writing style would best suit more mature readers.

I am looking forward to receiving the next book in the series and embarking on Speaker for the Dead (Ender's Saga #2) and I'll be interested to see how well the movie reflects this great story!

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The book made me feel like a kid again. Recommend to any male!

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